LA County for Trump: Eight Years Later, What Happened?

From early 2017 until mid-2018, I was active with a large coalition of Angelenos fighting the good fight for President Trump.

We went to protests, we led rallies, and we participated in marches in and around Los Angeles to support the President and advocate for his policies.

Some of the biggest movers and shakers in the movement got together for multiple Independence Day bashes throughout Southern California, including Genevieve Peter's home in the Sherman Oaks area.

Here's the group photo:

From back to front, left to right: Jesse Suave, Charles Beltran, David Hernandez, Joseph Cheng, Rachelle Mand, Megan Dowling, Patricia (?), Raphael Hwong, Mama Leonor, Roxanne, Elsa Aldeguer, Arthur Schaper, Harim Uzziel Vargas, Genevieve Peters Scott

A lot of people have followed up with me to ask what happened to the team. Where is everyone now?

Here's a basic rundown, as best as I can remember or relate.

I see Rachelle Mand (the lady with curly hair and glasses) at the Torrance-Lomita-Palos Verdes Republican Assembly meetings all the time. She's still in the fight.

Harim Uzziel Vargas (the guy at the front wearing a black shirt and a black MAGA hat) turned on all of us. He insisted that we could not be friends with people whom he did not like, which betrays a deep lack of maturity. He cut me off as he cut off many others.

Mama Leonor (the lady with long white hair and the stars and stripes on her shirt) is still kicking butt, but I have not seen her in years. I did connect with her briefly at an event earlier this year, but we didn't talk that much.

Genevieve Peters (on the right, in front of me) lives in Michigan now. She was born there, but moved to California to help with the George W. Bush campaign. She lived in the Golden State for years, and she was such a great help to all of us. After moving back to Michigan, he got married in 2023! Her husband, John Scott, is very supportive of the MAGA cause, too!

Elsa Aldeguer and I connect from time to time. We both supported Bianco for governor. I saw her late March, when I gave a speech to the Hollywood Republican Assembly. She has always been so supportive of me.

Joseph Cheng (the Asian guy with the shaved head) still connects with me from time to time, too. He supports me on social media. Unlike some in the MAGA-verse, he didn't get angry with me when I supported Governor Ron DeSantis for President in 2024. Yes, I voted for Trump in the general election. I am glad that I did, and I am glad that he is keeping promises this time, which he had made last time,

Megan Dowling was a hard-core Trump supporter. She attended lots of Tea Party rallies, was active in the local Republican clubs, and she attended lots of city council meetings to protest the sanctuary state law SB 54 in 2018.

Then she went to the dark side, celebrating all things Palestinian. All of this came out after the October 7th, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel. From that time on, she started blathering about how she opposed Zionism, hated Israel, and supported the "Palestinian" cause. She now spends every Sunday in Redondo Beach protesting Israel along with the local group of left-wing activists.

Patricia (can't remember her last name. UGH!) is still active, but I don't really talk to her. She was really helpful when I didn't have a car (or a lot of money!), so she would drive me to events.

I haven't seen Charles Beltran in a while. We had a falling out. It's a long story that I don't want to get into.

Lots of people don't know the story behind Raphael, but I feel safe sharing some of the details now. Raphael was a good friend, very close to me. He helped me when I had suffered a stroke in 2019, and then when I had another health scare two years later. Unfortunately, he became dark and cynical about everything. He would just complain about all the problems, and it was so draining. The last time I sat down with him, the day before Independence Day 2023, all he would do was perseverate about the end of the conservative movement and how everything was falling apart. I couldn't deal with his constant complaining and negativity anymore. I had to let him go, and I have not spoken to him since. It is very sad what happened to him.

I still see David Hernandez all the time. He is doing great work for the Trump and Republican cause in Los Angeles. He is fighting the good fight and really thinking big for the state of California. In fact, he is a Vice Chair for the California Republican Party, and he recently got re-elected to the position.

Jesse Suave is still active, doing great stuff. He registers voters and shows up to protests from time to time. I had dinner with him and a few others earlier this year.  I have talked with him a few times, and I see him at a lot of Christian events.

Roxanne (I forget her last name, UGH!) was well-known as an awesome biker chick. I attended her birthday a fear years ago in South Orange County. It was great to see her again, along with her kids. She is living somewhere in the Inland Empire now. We haven't talked lately, but she supports my work with MassResistance, which means a lot to me.

So, what happened to LA County for Trump?

Life happened, hard times happened, and new challenges came up.

I was working as a freelance journalist and activist for a year and a half. Time and money were growing tight, and I needed to find stable work. MassResistance, the international pro-family group that makes a difference, hired me in July 2018. I am celebrating my eighth year with the organization! That work has taken me to all sorts of places, and it has also required so much of my time that I no longer had time for Trump events.

During COVID-19, I was focused on the health freedom fight as well as exposing all the corruption in the public school system, which became so evident after kids were forced to stay home and get their education virtually. Parents finally witnessed all the grooming and corruption taking place in the government schools, and they demanded change!

From there, after Trump left office (Stolen Election!), I started doing other health freedom-related activism as well as my full-time work for MassResistance.

I soured on Trump in late 2022, when all of his US Senate picks failed and he chanted about protecting "gay rights." A lot of MAGA backed away from me in those days because I supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. I stepped away from a lot of other activism in those days, too, because I was tired of just doing the rallies. I wanted results, and I witnessed how just attending local government meetings and yelling at politicians wasn't getting the job done.

President Trump 2.0 has been a vast improvement over his first term, and he is setting the stage for great reforms and restoration in this country. I am hoping that more citizens get involved in the political process as well as the culture war. My main focus is MassResistance, but I am also writing more, getting published by American Thinker, American Greatness, Townhall.com, Canada Free Press, 2 Urban Girls, and other sites.

There's the basic rundown for now. Hope everyone is doing well, and let's not stop fighting for MAGA every day we can!